If Kerry hadn’t been so frightened of the latent violence that was causing his muscles to twitch involuntarily, she would have stepped forward and slapped him. Instead she fashioned fists out of her hands, but kept them at her sides.
Through gritted teeth she said, “I’m not a whore. I only disguised myself as one so I could go into that bar and pick you up.”
“Sounds like whoring to me.”
“Stop saying that!” she cried, as angered by his offhanded assessment of her as by his actual words. “I need your services.”
He glanced down at his fatigue pants, which were still unfastened and riding low on his narrow hips. “I think you already had them.”
Kerry went hot all over. It seemed that every drop of blood in her body rushed to her head and was pushing against her scalp. She couldn’t meet his sardonic eyes any longer and glanced skittishly around the clearing.
He laughed scoffingly. “I don’t remember it. How were you?”
She seethed. “You’re despicable.”
“That rowdy, huh?” he said, rubbing his jaw. “Wish I remembered it.”
“We didn’t do anything, you fool.”
“No?”
“Certainly not.”
“You just wanted to look but not touch?”
“No!”
“Then what are my pants doing unzipped?”
“I had to unfasten them to get your pistol out,” she flared. “I didn’t want you to kill me.”
He digested that. “That is still a distinct possibility. And taking away my pistol and machete won’t stop me. I could easily kill you with my bare hands. But I’d still like to know why you kept me from getting on that plane. Do you work for the Monterican government?”
She gaped at him, incredulous that he could think such a thing. “Are you crazy?"
He laughed without humor. “That’s probably it. It would be just like El Presidente to recruit an American broad to spy for him, damned coward that he is.”
“I agree with you that he’s a coward. But I don’t work for him.”
“The rebels, then. What do you do, steal exit visas for them?”
“No. I don’t work for anybody in Monterico.”
“Then who? The CIA is in a world of hurt if you’re the best they can do.”
“I work for myself. And don’t worry. I can meet your price.”
“What do you mean, my price?”
“I want to hire you. Just name your fee.”
“IBM doesn’t have that much money, lady.”
“I’ll pay anything.”
“You’re not listening. No more jobs in Monterico. I want out of this godforsaken place.” He moved toward her, sinister and steely. “You’ve screwed up royally, lady. That was the last plane out of here before the government shut down all international travel. Do you know what I had to do to get that visa?”
Kerry was sure she didn’t want to know. His slow, threatening approach made her talk faster. “I’ll make the delay worth your while. I swear it. And if you agree to help me, I can guarantee you a way out.”